Search results for query: *

There is a fairly serious and significant movement going on here (Ontario, Canada) right now to preserve, sustain, and, I believe, promote "heritage genetics", promoted by the "Poultry Industry Council" of Canada. http://www.poultryindustrycouncil.ca/ Likely significant to poultry in all of...

Chicks generate heat when they hatch so 99.8 is not surprising in such a small unit.

Take the eggs away from her. You might be able to stretch another week out of her with the chicks if the eggs are gone. 6 weeks is pretty young for those chicks to be fending for themselves at this time of year. But they will help to keep each other warm. I had 3 Marans chicks early last fall...

You've actually answered my question, Walt. Building the beast AND then there's the colour. Got it. Thank you. I've got a great little British book, Practical inbreeding for the pedigree livestock breeder: What it is and what it can achieve by W. Watmough. He discusses "inbreeding" in many...

Can/will you elaborate, Walt? It's sometimes hard to get one's head around the notion that a chicken is more complicated or different to breed than any other creature.

Perhaps some Silkies can be delicate so those ones might not last but I also keep my Silkies in an unheated/uninsulated coop and only provide heat if it goes into the single digits. (I'm not entirely convinced they needed the heat but it made me feel better.) I provide heated water. And I've...

Found a couple of excellent links with advice for raising chickens at high altitudes .... http://www.worldpoultry.net/Broilers/Housing/2012/5/Rearing-chickens-at-high-altitudes-WP010363W/ http://ucce.ucdavis.edu/files/repositoryfiles/ca1311p8-64807.pdf I can't help but think that Silkies...

The sounds are probably the most interesting aspect of all of this. The kids will SCREAM if they get cold. Happens all the time here in Canada. That scream will even get you running! You'll be convinced someone is dying. Mama seems powerless to her instincts at that point. She drops where she...

I've seen chicks make jumps that truly amaze me. Was just remarking to Wynette about that very fact as I have a particularly athletic Blue Birchen Marans growing out right now. I've even named him Peter Pan because he's been "flying" literally since he cracked his shell. (I also wouldn't be the...

I've had some figure out the ramp just fine and others choose not to use it and brood on the floor. I've also had my best results with the cock bird left in the mix.

At this point, I definitely wouldn't worry. Sounds like you have done everything you should. I've often thought the chicks dictate the pace. Sounds like your broody is doing brilliantly. She will bring them out when she and they are ready. :) There is also a very good chance, once they leave...

I'm sorry to hear that your first experiences with broodies have not been more positive. I've often thought that the broody moms "knew" but I've also seen cases where they were just not meant to be moms. (I was attempting to clean up a nest late last summer because mom had been hatching for...